Princess Theatre
204 Main Street,
Sanborn,
IA
51248
204 Main Street,
Sanborn,
IA
51248
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This theatre was opened in 1914, in the Harker Block, a one story brick over wood building originally constructed in 1886 (one source says 1884), as a roller rink. The roller skating craze died quickly, and the southern half became a bank, while the northern half was retail.
It was in this northern half that the theatre was located. The Princess Theatre was rebuilt and reopened in August 1927. It remained open until 1964/1965 when it was converted back to retail use. Unfortunately, this portion of the building has received a very bad remodel. The space has been a florists for many years.
Contributed by
Seth Gaines
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Recent comments (view all 2 comments)
This web page about Sanborn’s buildings has a paragraph about the Paradox/Harker Block, and says that the Princess closed in the late 1940s. They could be mistaken, of course, but perhaps not coincidentally, the FDY for 1946 lists the Princess with 274 seats and by 1947 it was listed with only 200. Could it be that the theater was relocated sometime in 1946?
The Princess Theatre building was rebuilt in 1927, and reopened on August 19 of that same year. During the theater’s operation, it was operated by the father-and-son team of Mr. J.S. and Richard Sanders. His father was the projectionist while Richard worked at the refreshment stand.
The Princess Theatre closed in either 1964 or 1965 and the marquee was removed in April 1966.